Max Verstappen pulled out a typically brilliant lap right when it mattered in the Sprint qualifying shoot out for the US Grand Prix to pip the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Verstappen, who still harbours slim hopes of defending his world drivers’ title, is still 63 points behind race leader Piastri with six races remaining. A win in the Sprint race nets a driver eight points, with seven for second and six for third in ascending order.

“It’s been a nice qualifying, throughout all the segments it was quite close,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1 afterward. “It was just about trying to put it all together. I still expect it to be a tough battle tomorrow in the sprint but that’s exactly what we want to see, right?

“The wind is very gusty and the track is very bumpy so the car can easily step out on you in the high speed.”

Max Verstappen prepares to drive in the garage during Sprint Qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 17, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

For Norris, the spectacular uphill charge into the opening left hand corner still represents a decent charge of nudging into the lead come lights out. But the bigger picture is staying out of trouble with the big points on offer on Sunday.

“Pretty happy with that. Of course, I would have liked to be on Pole, but it’s not a big surprise to be P2,” commented Norris on the official McLaren website. “There are a couple of little things here and there that I could have improved on, but that’s just the difficulty of this track. Otherwise, all good and we’re in a good position for tomorrow.”

Strong start to the weekend at COTA 💪🇺🇸#McLaren pic.twitter.com/olKQB5bCof

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 18, 2025

For Piastri, the task is simpler still. To stay consistent, grab whatever is on offer and nurse that 22-point advantage at the top of the drivers’ standings.

“It wasn’t my best lap in SQ3 as it was a little scrappy in places, but I’m relatively happy with the position, and we have really good pace in the car,” added the Australian. “I know where I need to tidy it up for Qualifying tomorrow, so we’ll aim to have a good Sprint in the morning and then fine-tune for the afternoon.”

OP talks through Sprint Quali 💬#McLaren pic.twitter.com/hxgmSyCHb8

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 18, 2025

Perhaps the surprise of the day was a spectacular effort from Stake F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg, who lines up fourth for the Sprint Race. The popular German starts ahead of Singapore GP winner George Russell, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz as Lewis Hamilton, Alexander Albon and Charles Leclerc rounded out the top ten.

Sprint Pole qualifier Max Verstappen and Sprint 3rd qualifier Oscar Piastri in parc ferme during Sprint Qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 17, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

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